KB (rapper)
KB | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Birth name | Kevin Elijah Burgess |
Also known as | KB, K to the Second Letter |
Born |
St. Petersburg, Florida, United States | July 21, 1988
Genres | Christian hip hop |
Occupation(s) | Rapper, A&R executive |
Instruments | Voice |
Labels | Reach |
Associated acts | 116 Clique, HGA, Natalie Lauren |
Website |
whoiskb |
Kevin Elijah Burgess (born July 21, 1988), better known by his stage name KB, is an American Christian hip hop artist and music executive from St. Petersburg, Florida. He is the leader of the hip-hop group HGA, and was signed as a solo artist to Reach Records in 2010. He is also a member of the Reach Records-based hip-hop collective 116 Clique. After releasing a mixtape in 2011 entitled Who Is KB?, his debut album, Weight & Glory, was released on July 17, 2012, to critical acclaim. On March 4, 2014 he released his first EP, 100. On April 21, 2015, he released his second album, Tomorrow We Live.
Biography
Early life
Kevin Elijah Burgess was born in St. Petersburg, Florida on July 21, 1988,[1] into a military family.[2] Shortly after his birth his parents moved to Southern Illinois where he was raised for eight years. When he was 8 years old, his parents divorced and he moved back with his mother to the south-side of St. Petersburg, which according to Burgess is "probably one of the worst areas in the state."[2] He did well in school and at age 15 was offered an opportunity to pursue college through a program called St. Petersburg Collegiate High School.[2] But despite this opportunity, he struggled with extreme depression and experimented with various drugs to try to relieve it. He began struggling at school due to his problems with his personal life, and even contemplated suicide.[2][3] Jeremy offered him a CD, and Burgess says he was saved after hearing the Gospel presentation on the recording.[2]
Personal life
Burgess is currently married with two children.[4]
Formation of HGA
After high school, Burgess enrolled in Bible college and befriended a group of Christian rappers and together they formed a hip hop group called HGA, short for His Glory Alone.[2][3] HGA eventually caught the interest of Lecrae, Ben Washer, and DJ Official,[3] and were featured with Tedashii on the track "Go" from DJ Official's album Entermission.[5][6] Burgess was invited onto the “Acquire the Fire” tour by Lecrae, and was asked to join the Reach Records team just a few months later.[3]
Signing with Reach Records
Burgess signed with Reach Records in 2010, and appeared that year on the album Rehab by Lecrae.[7] His mixtape Who is KB? followed a year later, as did appearances with PRo and Tedashii.[7][8][9][10] Who is KB? garnered 30,000 downloads by the following year.[7] His first single, "Hello", featured Suzy Rock and was released in October 2011.[11] In January 2012, a second single, "Zone Out" featuring Chris Lee Cobbins, was released.[12] Burgess then made an appearance with Andy Mineo on the Trip Lee album The Good Life.[7] A third single by Burgess, "Go Off", featured Tedashii and Andy Mineo, and was released in June.[13] The following month, his debut album Weight & Glory was released.[14][15]
On May 30, 2013, Reach announced a four-part project entitled "1st & 16th". This project would consist of Burgess releasing a new song every first and sixteenth of June and July. On June 1, Part 1, HCB Freestyle was released.[16] The songs Ride and Be All Right were also part of the 1st and 16th project.
On February 10, 2014, KB announced his new project, an EP entitled 100, which was released on March 4, 2014.[17] Burgess appeared in Family Force 5 music video for the song "BZRK", released on May 23, 2014, on which Burgess is a featured artist.[18]
On February 3, 2015, KB took to social media to reveal his second studio album, Tomorrow We Live, along with the cover and release date. It's scheduled to be released on April 21, 2015.[19] The first single off the album "Sideways" featuring Lecrae was released on February 23, 2015.[20] The second single "Crowns & Thorns (Oceans)" was released on March 10, 2015.
Discography
Studio albums
Year | Title | Chart positions | ||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
US | US Gospel | US Christ. | US Ind. | US Rap | ||||||||||
2012 | Weight & Glory
|
34 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 4 | ||||||||
2015 | Tomorrow We Live
|
18 | — | 1 | 2 | 4 | ||||||||
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. |
Collaboration albums
Year | Title | Chart positions | ||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
U.S. Gospel | U.S. Christ. | |||||||||||||
2011 | Man Up (with 116 Clique)
|
— | — | |||||||||||
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. |
EPs
Year | Title | Chart positions | ||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
US | US Gospel | US Christ. | US Ind. | US Rap | ||||||||||
2014 | 100
|
22 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | ||||||||
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. |
Mixtapes
Year | Title |
---|---|
2011 | Who is KB?
|
Multimedia series
Year | Title | Publisher |
---|---|---|
2013 | 1st & 16th | Reach |
Singles
As lead artist
Year | Title | Chart positions | Album | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
US Christ.[21] | US Gospel[21] | |||||||||||||
2011 | "Hello" (featuring Suzy Rock) | — | — | Weight & Glory | ||||||||||
2012 | "Zone Out" (featuring Chris Lee Cobbins) | — | — | |||||||||||
"Go Off" (featuring Tedashii & Andy Mineo) | — | — | ||||||||||||
2014 | "100" (featuring Andy Mineo) | 31 | 18 | 100 | ||||||||||
2015 | "Sideways" (featuring Lecrae) | 29 | — | Tomorrow We Live | ||||||||||
"Crowns & Thorns (Oceans)" | 31 | — | ||||||||||||
"Ima Just Do It" (featuring Bubba Watson) | 37 | — | ||||||||||||
2016 | "Tempo" | — | — | TBA | ||||||||||
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. |
As featured artist
Title | Year | Album | ||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
"116" (PRo featuring KB) | 2011 | Non-album single | ||||||||||||
"Passing" (Json featuring Serge and KB) | 2013 | Braille | ||||||||||||
"All In" (Flame featuring KB) | Royal Flush | |||||||||||||
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. |
Other charted songs
Year | Title | Chart positions | Album | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
US Christ.[21] | US Gospel[21] | |||||||||||||
2013 | "The Saints" (Andy Mineo featuring KB & Trip Lee) | 44 | 18 | Heroes for Sale | ||||||||||
2014 | "Paganini" (Andy Mineo featuring KB & Canon) | 46 | 21 | Never Land | ||||||||||
"Undefeated" (featuring Derek Minor) | 39 | 21 | 100 | |||||||||||
"Earthquake" (Tedashii featuring Dimitri McDowell & KB) | — | 22 | Below Paradise (Deluxe Edition) | |||||||||||
2015 | "I Believe" (featuring Mattie) | 38 | — | Tomorrow We Live | ||||||||||
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. |
Guest appearances
Title | Year | Other performer(s) | Album |
---|---|---|---|
"Used to Do It Too" | 2010 | Lecrae | Rehab |
"Full Court Mess" | 2011 | Pro | Dying to Live |
"Young" | Andy Mineo | Formerly Known | |
"You Know What it Is" | Tedashii, PK | Blacklight | |
"One Sixteen" | 2012 | Trip Lee, Andy Mineo | The Good Life |
"Fuego" | Lecrae, Suzy Rock | Gravity (iTunes edition) | |
"The Saints Remix" | Black Knight, Andy Mineo, Trip Lee | #ItsTheBlackKnight Beat Tape | |
"King of the World" | 2014 | Flame, V.Rose, Mike Real, Nico Wells | Jesus or Nothing |
"For Those Who Can't Speak" | Tenth Avenue North, Derek Minor | Cathedrals | |
"I Wouldn't Know" | 2016 | Lecrae | Church Clothes 3 |
"Prove It" | Crowder | American Prodigal |
Music videos
As lead artist
Title | Year | Director |
---|---|---|
"Zone Out" (featuring Chris Lee Cobbins) | 2012 | N/A |
"HCB Freestyle" | 2013 | Will Thomas |
"Heart Song" (featuring Jasmine Leshea) | N/A | |
"100" (featuring Andy Mineo) | 2014 | Squint |
"Kamikaze" (featuring Prisca)[22] | N/A | |
"Sideways" (featuring Lecrae) | 2015 | Kyle Dettman |
"Drowning" | 2016 | N/A |
As featured artist
Title | Year | Director |
---|---|---|
"Young" (Andy Mineo featuring KB) | 2012 | Kyle Dettman |
"One Sixteen" (Trip Lee featuring KB and Andy Mineo) | 2012 | N/A |
"BZRK"[18] (Family Force 5 featuring KB) | 2014 | Ryan Hamblin |
References
- ↑ KB official twitter account (July 21, 2014). "Amazing birthday by way of my lovely wife!". Twitter. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Reach Records (July 6, 2012). "KB – Weight & Glory Behind the Music and More (@kb_hga @reachrecords)" (Video/Web). YouTube. Retrieved July 23, 2012.
- 1 2 3 4 Reach Records. "KB". Reach Records Official Website. Reach Records. Retrieved July 23, 2012.
- ↑ "KB Is Breaking The Christian Rap Mold". The GRAMMYs. Retrieved March 8, 2015.
- ↑ "Go – Tedashii" (Web). Billboard. Nielsen Business Media. Retrieved July 23, 2012.
- ↑ "Entermission". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved July 23, 2012.
- 1 2 3 4 Rogers and Cowan PR (July 17, 2012). "Reach Records' latest hip hop Artist KB, Makes July 17th Debut Release of 'Weight & Glory'". Breathecast. Christian Post. Retrieved July 24, 2012.
- ↑ "PRo "116" feat. KB". Rapzilla. January 25, 2011. Retrieved July 24, 2012.
- ↑ Monger, James Christopher. "Blacklight". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved July 24, 2012.
- ↑ "PRo 'Dying To Live' Tracklisting". Rapzilla. August 2, 2011. Retrieved July 24, 2012.
- ↑ "KB "Hello" feat. Suzy Rock". Rapzilla. October 28, 2011. Retrieved July 24, 2012.
- ↑ "KB "Zone Out" feat. Chris Lee". Rapzilla. January 24, 2011. Retrieved July 24, 2012.
- ↑ "KB "Go Off" ft. Andy Mineo & Tedashii". Rapzilla. June 7, 2012. Retrieved July 24, 2012.
- ↑ Ham, Robert (July 17, 2012). "KB: Weight & Glory". Christianity Today. Christianity Today. Retrieved July 19, 2012.
- ↑ Peterson, Aaron (July 3, 2012). "KB | Weight & Glory" (Web). The Christian Manifesto. Retrieved July 19, 2012.
- ↑ "Reach Records". Reach Records. May 30, 2013. Retrieved June 13, 2013.
- ↑ "Reach Records". Reach Records. Retrieved May 12, 2014.
- 1 2 "Family Force 5 - BZRK [feat. KB] (Official Music Video)". YouTube. Google. May 23, 2014. Retrieved May 23, 2014.
- ↑ David Daniels. "KB reveals new 2015 album title, cover and release date". Rapzilla. Retrieved February 6, 2015.
- ↑ David Daniels. "Lyric Video: KB - Sideways feat. Lecrae". Rapzilla. Retrieved March 8, 2015.
- 1 2 3 4 "KB - Chart history". Billboard.
- ↑ "KB & Prisca - Kamikaze (@KB_HGA @reachrecords)". YouTube. Retrieved February 11, 2015.